IRVINE - For the first several innings, Saturday's CIF Southern Section Division V championship game at Deanna Manning Stadium in Irvine played out faithfully to the script of last year's. Once again, the La Cañada High softball team squared off with Beaumont for the title with dominant starting pitchers headlining the matchup and once again things were nip and tuck in the early going. But, whereas in 2011 they stayed that way right until the end of the Spartans victory, in which an Anna Edwards home run backed a Lauren O'Leary shutout for a one-run win on just three hits, this year's La Cañada team took a different path to a championship.

Baseball Babe Ruth Red Sox 10, Angels 3 The Sox continued their recent trend of putting big numbers up late in beating the Angels 10-3. Angel pitcher Chris Parker held the Sox to one hit through three innings. Clayton Weirick was almost as good, holding the Angels to one run over the first three innings. The Angels threatened to put real distance between the teams in the top of the fourth when they started with a single, two walks and a single off David Bywater.

Bats and I have something in common (yes, I know that's weird): we operate in various stages of somnabulism during the day, but oh baby, just catch us after the witching hour 'cause- whooeeee - that's when we come alive! It must be a genetic thing and probably delightful for bats, none of whom have to deal with the IBM nine-to-five humanoid work world in the morning. Sigh. Meanwhile, I am not employed by IBM. BTW, is anyone? And is anyone besides me paranoid enough to think technology is running the world minus warm blooded interference?

Babe Ruth Dodgers 11, Red Sox 5 The teams played this game over two separate days. The Dodgers, having only nine healthy players, had a tough third inning defensively but came back strongly in the fourth inning ? batting through more than the order. Brian Streeter had one of his best games ever, with two fine at-bats. ? Angels 16, Cubs 4 The Cubs got smoked by the Angels. Eleven errors in the first three innings doomed them. Weak hitting eliminated any hopes of a comeback.

It was an easy walk in the park for Loyola High?s baseball team on Monday afternoon, as the Cubs took advantage of shaky pitching from the visiting St. Francis Golden Knights (15-10, 5-4) to an 8-3 victory in a key Mission League contest here at Hank Hernandez Memorial Field. Loyola (12-11-1, 3-4) did not have to do too much with its bats, not when St. Francis? pitchers allowed 10 Cubs batters to reach on bases on balls and two more to reach on hit by pitch. In all, each Loyola starter reached base at least once by the fourth inning, with a total of 26 base runners keeping the St. Francis defense busy.

You might suspect that the soft-spoken neighbor of average height with the kindly attitude but strong build was some kind of athlete. You might be right. Greg Dobbs, the third baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies, is a local resident. He and his wife, Heidi, moved to La Cañada three years ago, about a year before bringing their daughter into the world. ?It?s a really nice area,? Dobbs said. ?We love the community and it?s a great place to live.? Dobbs grew up in Riverside, far away from La Cañada, but his wife Heidi Dobbs, nee Reinhardt, is from the area, a graduate of Crescenta Valley High and granddaughter of Bill Reinhardt, former coach at Glendale College.

PASADENA ? The bulk of the damage done to the St. Francis High baseball team by visiting Loyola?s lineup on Tuesday at Jackie Robinson Field was mostly concentrated within two innings. But the Cubs? five-run first inning and four-run fourth were more than enough to deny the Golden Knights a Mission League win they badly needed to keep pace with the race for the postseason. The tone was set for an afternoon of struggle for the Golden Knights when Loyola?s first five batters got hits against starting pitcher Joey Malham in the top of the first inning en route to an 11-5 defeat.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE - If there was any doubt, the La Cañada High softball team proved it's ready for the CIF Southern Section Division V playoffs in its regular-season finale Thursday. It was the bats that did the talking for the Spartans, who racked up 17 hits in a five-inning 10-0 mercy-rule victory over Rio Hondo League opponent South Pasadena in five innings. “We had good at-bats and that's what I'm looking for,” La Cañada Coach KC Mathews said. “The fact our girls are seeing the ball and going with those outside pitches, driving the ball up the middle and to the right side is what really sticks out to me.” Five players - Katy Lee, Catherine Horner, Annie Monroe, Lauren Cox and Selina Mohr - had multi-hit games for La Cañada (21-4-1, 10-1-1 in league)

In a La Cañada Junior Baseball/Softball Association Bronco Division semifinal game earlier this month, the Mets edged the Yankees, 7-6. The Yanks' bats didn't wake up until the fourth inning as Avery Schwartz got the only hit in the first three innings while the Mets were building up a 6-0 lead. The Yankees scored five runs in the fourth inning to close the gap to 6-5. However, the Mets scored another run in the fifth to put them up, 7-5. The Yanks came back with only one run in the top of the seventh inning and fell short, 7-6. Yanks' hurler John Hayes kept the Mets scoreless in the second and fourth innings, but four errors gave the Mets four runs in the first and third innings.

Everything Eric Smith heard about life in minor league baseball couldn't have been truer. It really is a grind. That's the first thing the 2009 La Cañada High graduate learned about his new job as a member of the Ogden Raptors, a rookie affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Smith forwent his senior season with the Stanford University baseball team to sign a contract with the Dodgers organization after he was drafted by his hometown team in the 18th round at No. 566 overall June 6 in the Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft.

IRVINE - For the first several innings, Saturday's CIF Southern Section Division V championship game at Deanna Manning Stadium in Irvine played out faithfully to the script of last year's. Once again, the La Cañada High softball team squared off with Beaumont for the title with dominant starting pitchers headlining the matchup and once again things were nip and tuck in the early going. But, whereas in 2011 they stayed that way right until the end of the Spartans victory, in which an Anna Edwards home run backed a Lauren O'Leary shutout for a one-run win on just three hits, this year's La Cañada team took a different path to a championship.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE - Lauren Cox had only logged 19 plate appearances in the regular season, but she still worked on her hitting everyday in practice and it showed Thursday. Cox led the La Cañada High softball team to a 15-0 rout of visiting Lompoc - the third-place entrant out of the Los Padres League - in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division V playoffs, as she went three for five with five runs batted in and turned in a one-hit, shutout victory with 14 strikeouts in the circle.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE - If there was any doubt, the La Cañada High softball team proved it's ready for the CIF Southern Section Division V playoffs in its regular-season finale Thursday. It was the bats that did the talking for the Spartans, who racked up 17 hits in a five-inning 10-0 mercy-rule victory over Rio Hondo League opponent South Pasadena in five innings. “We had good at-bats and that's what I'm looking for,” La Cañada Coach KC Mathews said. “The fact our girls are seeing the ball and going with those outside pitches, driving the ball up the middle and to the right side is what really sticks out to me.” Five players - Katy Lee, Catherine Horner, Annie Monroe, Lauren Cox and Selina Mohr - had multi-hit games for La Cañada (21-4-1, 10-1-1 in league)

Area 1 3000 block of Altura Avenue: The rear window of a Ford Explorer was smashed sometime between 6:50 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 3. Nothing was taken from the vehicle, which was parked in front of its owner's home. It was unknown what object was used to smash the window. 2200 block of Montrose Avenue: An estimated $8,950 worth of vandalism was inflicted on a Black Nissan Altima when it was keyed and battered with a baseball bat or similar object sometime between 10 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 1 and 6:15 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 2. Scratches and dents covered the entire vehicle, and letters were scratched into the trunk, according to the report.

Lauren O'Leary, last year's first-team All-CIF Southern Section and co-Rio Hondo Most Valuable Pitcher, doesn't need to prove herself anymore. However, the senior pitched another statement game against San Marino at home Friday. O'Leary was slated for what was sure to be sure a pitchers' duel against San Marino's standout sophomore pitcher, Michelle Floyd, who's already verbally committed to the University of Arizona. The Spartans got two runs in the first inning off Floyd, and that was more than O'Leary would need, as she struck out 12 and allowed just five base runners (three walks and two hits)

PASADENA ? The bulk of the damage done to the St. Francis High baseball team by visiting Loyola?s lineup on Tuesday at Jackie Robinson Field was mostly concentrated within two innings. But the Cubs? five-run first inning and four-run fourth were more than enough to deny the Golden Knights a Mission League win they badly needed to keep pace with the race for the postseason. The tone was set for an afternoon of struggle for the Golden Knights when Loyola?s first five batters got hits against starting pitcher Joey Malham in the top of the first inning en route to an 11-5 defeat.

Los Angeles County Sheriff?s deputies are searching for a man who threatened a woman with a metal baseball bat in the parking lot at Plaza de La Cañada on Wednesday. At approximately 2:30 p.m. Wednesday a 46-year-old woman and her elderly mother were looking for a parking space in front of Vons grocery store, Sgt. Ray Harley said. ?A parking spot opened up and she had to back up to maneuver into the spot,? Harley said. Once parked, the driver noticed a four-door white Toyota had pulled up behind her. A white male, approximately 60 to 70 years old, exited the vehicle, opened his trunk and pulled out a metal baseball bat, Harley said.

It was an easy walk in the park for Loyola High?s baseball team on Monday afternoon, as the Cubs took advantage of shaky pitching from the visiting St. Francis Golden Knights (15-10, 5-4) to an 8-3 victory in a key Mission League contest here at Hank Hernandez Memorial Field. Loyola (12-11-1, 3-4) did not have to do too much with its bats, not when St. Francis? pitchers allowed 10 Cubs batters to reach on bases on balls and two more to reach on hit by pitch. In all, each Loyola starter reached base at least once by the fourth inning, with a total of 26 base runners keeping the St. Francis defense busy.

Baseball Babe Ruth Red Sox 10, Angels 3 The Sox continued their recent trend of putting big numbers up late in beating the Angels 10-3. Angel pitcher Chris Parker held the Sox to one hit through three innings. Clayton Weirick was almost as good, holding the Angels to one run over the first three innings. The Angels threatened to put real distance between the teams in the top of the fourth when they started with a single, two walks and a single off David Bywater.